Tell The Senate To Stop Wall Street Gambling

For more than a year our leaders have promised to fix the broken banking system -- yet still nothing has changed.

Wall Street bankers continue to get fat bonuses for irresponsible gambling while the rest of us sit by and watch. Your outrage can help us return common sense to this irresponsible financial system.

What does real banking reform look like?

- Curb bank gambling: Limit the bets that banks can make, including the private side-bets that are not even reported.

- No more bailouts: No bank should ever again be bailed out by taxpayers, so make sure no bank is "too big to fail."

- Stop the legalese: Require mortgages, loan contracts and credit card terms be written simply and clearly so you actually get what you are promised, instead of a bunch of fine print surprises in higher fees and costs.

- End the ‘quick profit' mentality: Pay brokers and bankers based on the long-term performance and quality of the loans they make. End 'keep the fee, pass on the risk.' Require bonuses to be linked to long term gains, not short term booked profit.

- Reduce debt: Make sure minimum loan payments cover some principle as well as interest, so people can pay down their debts.

- Get tough on cheaters: Don't leave consumer protection in the hands of those who failed to do it.

The Senate is now crafting legislation that will likely become the framework for reform, and the banks' top brass know their big bonuses are at stake. Tell your Senator to stop listening to the banks and listen to Americans.

Letter to

U.S. Senate

What happened to getting a straight-forward home loan, a fair credit card, and respect for the value of the money I deposit? What I see, bankers are back to getting huge bonuses, while the things they did that caused our nation's economic crisis are all still perfectly legal--booking quick profits on loans doomed to fail, passing the risk on to someone else, gambling with borrowed money. Bankers seem to have forgotten personal responsibility, fair play and thrift, and you need to get serious about bringing those values back.

* No more bailouts: No bank should ever again be bailed out by taxpayers, so make sure no bank is "too big to fail."

* Reduce family debt: Make sure minimum loan payments cover some principle as well as interest, so people can actually pay down their debts.

* Stop the legalese: Require mortgages, loan contracts and credit card terms be written simply and clearly so you actually get what you are promised, instead of a bunch of fine print surprises in higher fees and costs.

* End the 'quick profit' mentality: Pay brokers and bankers based on the long-term performance and quality of the loans they make. End 'keep the fee, pass on the risk.'

* Curb the gambling: Limit the bets that banks can make, including the private side-bets that are not even reported.

* Don't leave consumer protection in the hands of those who failed to do it.

I urge you to focus on the market problems that caused the crisis and fix them. Bring back values that will strengthen our financial system and the financial standing of every American family.